Ms Helen Gelletlie:

On the Deputy's point in regard to meeting our targets, the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, stated in the Dáil on 12 December that Ireland will meet its targets for renewable energy from wind farms on land without recourse to offshore wind, which he described as "more than twice as expensive". As such, in the Minister's view we do not need offshore wind to meet our renewable targets. He also said that he and the Government now view these wind farms as an export opportunity.